International Political Economy

International Political Economy focuses on understanding the causes of: economic growth in developing and transition economies, the role of international trade in improving economic welfare around the world, and the impact of the international financial system on the world economy. Students will study the world economic system and become skilled in improving economic conditions in an increasingly globalized world. A critical objective will be to promote economic development and to enhance the efficiency of the international economic system.

Research Center

Stanford’s Center on International Development (SCID) is a center within the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) that focuses on international trade and development. The center’s mission is to foster scholarly research on issues pertaining to economic policy reform in developing economies and those in transition. The agenda for SCID has three main components: the causes of economic growth in developing and transition economies; the role of international trade in improving economic welfare around the world; and the impact of the international financial system on the world economy. SCID aims to create and disseminate new knowledge about development and the world economic system that will help policy makers improve economic conditions and allow business leaders to survive in a globalized economy.

Gateway Courses

IPE concentrators take IPS 202 as the international economics requirements and IPS 203 as the area of concentration gateway:

IPS 202 – TOPICS IN INTERNATIONAL MACROECONOMICS
This course is an introduction to international or open-economy macroeconomics. The goal of the course is to equip students with the tools to analyze international macroeconomic and financial issues, policies and events. The key topics studied in this course are exchange rate regimes, the causes and consequences of external imbalances, currency and financial crises, the economics of monetary unification, and the reform of the international financial architecture.

IPS 203 – ISSUES IN INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS
The purpose of the course is to equip students with the tools to analyze international trade issues and policies. To that end, the course focuses on key topics in international trade and trade policy. These topics include the relationship between trade, growth and poverty, the World Trade Organization (WTO), regionalism versus multilateralism, the political economy of trade policy, the appropriate trade policies for developing economies, and other selected topical international trade issues. Topics covered in class are supplemented with student research on other relevant international trade and trade policy issues.

Elective Courses

A full list of elective courses for the International Political Economy concentration can be found online in Explore Degrees.